Proposed changes would require intelligence-led approval for interceptions and shift most enforcement to the supplier’s or recipient’s state, while replacing transit confiscation with detention and release penalties.
India’s Goods and Services Tax Council has recommended a major tightening of enforcement around e-Way Bill checks, proposing that goods vehicles in transit should be intercepted only when officers have specific intelligence and approval from a Joint Commissioner or a more senior official. If the changes are enacted, inspections, detentions and seizures would generally be confined to the supplier’s state or the recipient’s state, ending routine roadside checks by transit states when paperwork is in order.
The move would mark a significant shift from current practice, under which a truck can be stopped anywhere along its route to verify the e-Way Bill and related documents. According to commentary published by CSM LLP, the proposed framework would remove random checks and concentrate enforcement powers in the states directly connected to the supply. The aim appears to be to reduce avoidable disruption to transporters and businesses that often face delays and working-capital strain when consignments are held up over minor documentation issues.
The Council’s recommendations, reported by Tally Solutions, still leave room for action in transit states when a consignment is missing an e-Way Bill or when the driver is not carrying the prescribed invoice, bill of supply or delivery challan. In those cases, an authorised officer would still be able to inspect, detain or seize the goods. But where the documentation is complete, the transit state would lose the power to intervene, and any further enforcement would rest with the state where the supplier or recipient is registered.
Another important change concerns confiscation. The Council has recommended that Section 130 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, which deals with confiscation in cases of alleged tax evasion, should not apply to goods or conveyances in transit. Instead, such cases would fall under Section 129, which provides for detention and release on payment of penalty. Tally Solutions says the proposals will take effect only after the relevant provisions of the CGST Act and rules are amended and notified, and it notes that businesses should continue to generate e-Way Bills in advance, keep transport details updated and carry matching documents for every consignment until the legal changes formally begin.
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